Common Terms
Maki – sushi rolled up using a bamboo mat. It’s normally wrapped in nori (dried seaweed), but it is sometimes served in soy paper or thinly sliced cucumber. The maki rolls are cut into six or eight pieces. This particular type of sushi is acceptable to eat with your fingers or chopsticks and can be dipped in soy sauce or topped with wasabi.

Nigiri – sliced raw fish with a molded ball of rice underneath. Most sushi chefs add a dab of wasabi in between the rice and fish, so no additional sauce is needed. Only the fish side of the nigiri should be dipped into soy sauce and it can be eaten with your hands.

Sashimi – sliced raw fish served without rice. Sashimi should be eaten with chopsticks and can be eaten with wasabi mixed into the soy sauce.

Basics
The base of most sushi is a special variety of rice called awase-zu. The short-grain rice is seasoned with rice vinegar, salt and sugar. The mixture itself is called shari and is a bit sticky so it can be formed into shapes for nigiri or rolled to make maki.

Not all sushi has to be eaten with chopsticks. It’s actually recommended to eat maki and nigiri with your fingers. But, it’s proper to always use chopsticks for sashimi. Whenever you’re eating sushi, a plate with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce is always presented. The ginger is used as a palate cleanser between bites while the wasabi can be used for additional spice on maki and sashimi (nigiri typically comes seasoned with it already). Wasabi should only be mixed into soy sauce when eating sashimi. Plain soy sauce can be used with nigiri, but only the fish part of the sushi should be dipped. These are just the traditional sushi eating techniques. Feel free to eat and season your sushi any way you please.

For the First-Timer
If you’re getting ready for your first time eating sushi, we recommend going with friends who have tried it before. Sitting at the sushi bar will allow you to talk directly to the sushi chef and get their personal recommendations. Our chefs at Oyster Bar are always happy to help the experienced or novice eaters. If you’re adventurous, you can ask for omakase, meaning “to trust the chef”. Our sushi chefs will make anything they like and send it your way!

President, Founder and CEO of Honolulu Fish Co., Wayne Samiere

Las Vegas may be far from the ocean, but we're able to give our guests fresh seafood in the desert (which may seem impossible) thanks to Honolulu Fish Co. (HFC). The Hawaii-based fishery ships seafood fresh from the ocean to our loading dock in 18 hours or less on a daily basis. Our chefs are able to keep guests' seafood cravings satisfied and serve up the freshest, highest quality fish every day thanks to HFC's fish shipments.

The 18-hour process begins with fishermen catching the fish. HFC then processes the fish using the Japanese "iki" method, which is the industry standard for producing sashimi-quality meat. The fish are ice killed and bled immediately (while the heart is still beating). They are promptly chilled down to near freezing temperature levels. The boats even lay carpet on their decks so the fish can be processed on a soft surface. This process is necessary to produce the highest quality meat for the raw fish market.

HFC puts the fish they ship through strict quality standards. All of their fish are caught using sustainable fishing methods; they do not use nets, traps or trawls in the process. The seafood must be "iki" processed and their fish meat must have high translucency, low water content, high oil content and PH.

After the "iki" processing method, the fish are packaged in thermo dynamic heat shielded boxes. The meat is vacuum sealed and then packed with custom gel ice and specially developed absorption pads that help to prevent excess moisture. They are immediately shipped via Fed Ex Air to the M Resort. Once the shipment arrives at our loading dock, it is sorted and sent up to our different restaurants to be prepared by our amazing chefs!

If you're dining on Sashimi Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Ora Salmon, Ono, Swordfish, Snapper or Grouper at any of our restaurants, you're enjoying fish that came straight from Hawaii. The next time you order sushi or other seafood specialties at M, just remember that fish traveled a long way to get to your plate.